Madonna and Child on a Curved Throne

Byzantine 13th Century (possibly from Constantinople)

National Gallery of Art

A woman and child sit on an ornate gold, curving throne in front of a shimmering gold background in this vertical painting. Two winged angels in roundels at the upper corners and the woman and child all have peach-colored skin with a gray cast. The woman tips her head toward the child, to our right. She has almond-shaped eyes, a long, straight nose, and her small lips are closed. She looks into the distance over the child’s head. She wears a scarlet-red mantle that covers her head and drapes over her shoulders and body. The azure-blue of her dress beneath is visible at her throat and over one knee. The child sitting on her knee is as tall as a toddler but has adult proportions in his face and body. He holds up his right hand, on our left, and raises the first two fingers. He holds a red scroll in his other hand. He wears a forest-green robe over a salmon-pink garment. The clothing of both the woman and child have geometric gold lines indicating folds in the drapery, and both have gold halos. The child’s halo is marked with three red arms to create a cross above and to the sides of his head. The woman rests her feet on a low stool in front of the opening of the elaborately carved, two-tier throne that nearly encircles the pair. The winged angels in the upper corners have gold halos, brown hair, jeweled, gold garments, and each holds an orb and scepter.